Bored
by Kara1626
Summary: Sequel to “Next Time". Tony's bored. That's never a good thing... WARNING: Contains non-consensual spanking of adults.
1. Chapter 1

_**Sequel to "Next Time"**_

**WARNING: Contains non-consensual spanking of an adult.**

Tony had been on his best behavior for a month, a week and three days – an unprecedented streak. It had been so long since he'd even earned so much as a head-slap that Gibbs was starting to allow himself to believe that his senior agent was finally beginning to live up to his title. But, as Gibbs reflected, all good things must come to an end. And boy, had Tony managed to end it in spectacular fashion!

* * * * *

"Tony! Stop touching things!" Abby yelled as one of her machines began to beep incessantly. She'd turned around to see Tony suddenly very interested in the contents of her refrigerator. She rushed over, pushed a few buttons and the beeping stopped. When she turned back to her computer, Tony was standing in front of it typing as fast as he could. Suddenly, her screen turned bright blue and white text started scrolling up from the bottom. "What did you do?" she shouted at him and pushed him violently aside. She rebooted her computer as Tony started juggling evidence jars. But Tony wasn't the world's best juggler and in no time, a dozen jars were scattered around the floor. "What is wrong with you?" Abby demanded.

"I'm bored," he whined.

"Well go be bored somewhere else before you tear my lab apart!"

Tony started bouncing on his toes. "I hate this!" he said, still pretty much whining.

"Tony, this happens every year. Get used to it," Abby answered as she turned back to her now-rebooted computer.

"But it's dumb," he said as he walked over and stood next to her. As he reached out to pick up a vial from her desk, Abby slapped his hand – and not gently. "Yeoww!" he yelled, rubbing the back of his hand.

"Stop touching things!" Their conversation had come full circle. "How do you not have anything to do?"

"We don't have a case, and Gibbs is busy with this Open House nonsense." Tony suddenly giggled. "Can you imagine ending up in his tour group? He's probably down in Autopsy right now pulling bodies out of drawers to show people what a dead body looks like."

Abby jumped right in and took the bait. "_And this is the elevator,_" she mocked. "_It stops between floors so I can yell at my staff and well, pretty much anyone else who pisses me off_." She and Tony dissolved into giggles and didn't hear the elevator open. The next thing they knew, their boss was herding a small group of civilians with visitor badges and souvenir bags into the lab.

"And this is our forensics lab and our forensic scientist, Abby Sciuto." Abby immediately stepped up in her normal, bubbly fashion and began giving a tour of the lab. Gibbs slid over to Tony. "DiNozzo, I'm not going to tell you again. Go find something to do," he said in a fierce whisper. Tony opened his mouth to protest that he didn't _have_ anything to do, but before he could get a word out, he felt a hard hand slap his butt. "Now."

Tony shut his mouth and sulked out of the lab, grateful that the tour group was so engrossed in Abby's explanation of, well, something Tony didn't understand, that no one saw his uncomfortable interaction with Gibbs. He headed up to the squad room, completely aware of the fact that he'd just been given a warning.

* * * * *

An hour later, Tony was back in Abby's lab. "Come on, please?"

"Ok, fine. Take a couple. But you'd better replace them when you get back."

"Thanks, Abbs. This is going to be great!" Tony said excitedly. He made a beeline for one of the many cabinets in the lab with Abby following close behind.

"Don't take them all. You can have five, but that's it. I have a party this weekend and I want to bring the rest. We're doing it in this warehouse down at the docks? It's gonna ROCK!" Abby said, now just as excited as Tony.

"Thanks. I have to 'go find something to do'," Tony said sarcastically when he was finished rummaging through her cabinet. "See you later!"

* * * * *

"McGee."

"Yeah Boss?"

"Where is DiNozzo?"

"Uh, I haven't seen him for about an hour."

"Call his cell," Gibbs ordered.

McGee dialed and waited. "He's not answering."

Gibbs picked up his own phone and dialed. "Abs, is Tony with you?...Ok." The brief conversation was repeated with Ducky. He turned around as the elevator dinged its arrival, but it was Kate who appeared. "Kate, have you seen DiNozzo?"

"No. I haven't seen him since before lunch."

Suddenly, three streaks of smoke flew up past the huge picture window in the squad room followed a second later by three loud pops. And then an explosion. Gibbs flew to the window in a panic. Black smoke was quickly filling the air and he saw that two cars were on fire in the motor pool parking lot below. A small figure stood frozen looking at the flaming shells. He'd found Tony.

Gibbs had never made it down four flights of stairs faster in his life. Even so, by the time he slammed open the door that lead outside, the base fire trucks were arriving and Army MPs were already cordoning off the area. He saw Tony engaged in a heated argument with one of the MPs. Next to him on the ground were three shells and one unexploded rocket. He ran over, grabbed Tony's arm and spun him around to face him. He looked him up and down frantically. "Are you ok? Are you hurt at all?"

"No, I'm fine. Boss, stop that," Tony protested as Gibbs started feeling for broken bones and checking him for shrapnel wounds. "I'm fine."

"What the hell were you doing?!?!?" Gibbs demanded, obviously convinced that Tony was, in fact, just fine.

"Boss, I…" Tony stammered. But the arrival of Director Morrow cut his stammering short.

"What happened?" he demanded, taking in the scene in front of him. Gibbs still had a death grip on Tony's arm, the fire fighters were spraying foam on the two burning cars and a young MP was staring at Gibbs and Tony, eyes wide, mouth hanging open.

Without taking his eyes off Tony, Gibbs pointed at the firework lying on the ground. The director looked from Gibbs to the firework and back to Gibbs. "Is he ok?" he asked.

"At the moment," Gibbs growled.

"My office," Director Morrow ordered before he strode off to talk to the CO on site.

Tony's shoulder just about ripped out of its socket as Gibbs yanked him toward the building. He was pushed into the elevator, but when it didn't come to a clanking halt, he turned to his furious boss – who was still holding his arm as if one of their lives depended on it. "Boss…"

"Don't say a word," Gibbs growled, staring straight ahead at the shiny doors.

They arrived at the director's office and Tony found himself planted in front of the desk. Then, and only then, did Gibbs release his arm. He reached over to rub some of the pain out of it. "Arms at your sides," Gibbs ordered from the chair he had dropped himself into at the table.

Tony stared out the window, for the first time finally able to think. "_What went wrong?"_ he wondered. He tired to replay the events of the last few minutes in the tense silence, but the arrival of the director curtailed his wonderings.

Director Morrow stood behind his desk and glared at Tony for a moment. For his part, Tony stood at stiff attention, refusing to return the gaze. "I'm not even sure where to start, Agent DiNozzo. I don't need to ask what happened. That much is clear. So I suppose, we should start with what the hell were you thinking?"

Tony had never seen Morrow angry before. It was not a good contrast to the director's normally cool and casual attitude. "I…well…I…" The director offered no help at all, simply allowing Tony to stammer along. Finally he took a deep breath to steady himself. "I was bored," he said matter-of-factly.

Morrow's eyebrow shot up. "Bored?" he spat out. "You were bored so you decided to set off fireworks in the motor pool parking lot?"

"Yes Sir," Tony answered quietly.

"How did two cars end up on fire?" Morrow demanded.

"I guess one of them was bad," Tony explained. "I had no way of knowing that," he added, hoping to diffuse some of the director's – and Gibbs' – anger.

"I would ask why you didn't check them before you set them off, but that really couldn't matter less."

"No Sir," Tony admitted.

After another tense moment, the director pulled open a drawer and started routing around. Tony's heart stopped, sure the director was about to produce a paddle. But instead, he pulled out a folder, flipped it open roughly and grabbed a pen. He sat down and started scribbling something. He signed his name to the bottom of the form and then looked up at Tony. "Agent DiNozzo, you are suspended for the next two weeks. You will surrender your weapon and your badge to Agent Gibbs. You will be contacted next week regarding the date and time of your return interview, and upon your return, you will be on desk duty for the following two weeks. Until then, you are not to step foot in the building. Understood?"

"Yes Sir," Tony answered miserably.

"That will be all," the director said pointedly.

Head hung, Tony turned toward the door, not daring to look in Gibbs' direction. "Wait for me in the conference room," he heard Gibbs order as he reached for the door handle. Without looking back, he left the room, closing the door behind him.

When the door was closed, Gibbs finally stood up, walked across the room and stood where Tony had stood just moments earlier. Morrow handed him the suspension order and a pen. "You need to sign that too," he said.

Gibbs took the paper and pen, but made no move to sign anything. After a thoughtful moment, he looked down at the director. "Sir, I don't think this is the best way to handle this."

"You don't?" Morrow asked, not even a little bit surprised.

"No Sir. If you suspend him for that long, he won't learn anything. He'll sit at home watching movies and playing video games. And putting him on desk duty will just give him more time to dream up more of his outrageous stunts."

"He has to be punished for this," Morrow stated obviously. "What would you suggest instead?" Gibbs shifted his weight, but didn't answer right away. Morrow nodded. "I don't think I have to worry about you going too easy on him. If anything, I think I need to warn you to show some restraint. We do need him to be able to walk when he comes back to work." He gave Gibbs a significant look before he sighed, nodded and held out his hand for the paper and pen. "He can't come in tomorrow," he said as he fed the paper into the shredder. "I have people I need to answer to too, and I need to tell them that he's been suspended."

"That's fine. But he'll be back on Monday."

"Will he be able to sit at his desk?" Morrow asked knowingly.

"I can't make any promises," Gibbs said through a clenched jaw. "Thank you Sir." He left without waiting to be dismissed and walked quickly toward the conference room.

"I told you to wait for me _in_ the conference room, not outside it, DiNozzo," he whispered harshly as a tour group walked past.

"It's occupied," Tony said, still looking very miserable.

"Put your weapon and your badge in my drawer," Gibbs ordered as the door opened and another tour group poured out into the hallway. "Go get your stuff and go home." Tony's head fell. "My home."

His head snapped back up. "Wha.." but the look on Gibbs' face stopped him short. He nodded, turned and walked slowly down the steps.

"Tony, are you ok?" Kate asked in a panic when she saw him walking toward his desk. He ignored her, pulled his gun and badge out of his desk, walked to Gibbs' desk and deposited them in his boss' drawer. "Tony," she said again.

"I have to go," he answered as he grabbed his bag and headed for the elevator.

She was about to call after him again when Gibbs arrived. "Gibbs, what happened?"

"What do you think happened Kate? DiNozzo just got himself suspended," he answered angrily as he pushed past her to the elevator. Kate and McGee exchanged shocked glances as their boss disappeared.


	2. Chapter 2

* * * * *

Gibbs walked into Abby's lab and headed straight for her cabinet. Fortunately, there did not happen to be a tour group present. Abby stood back as he ripped open the door and grabbed a box from the bottom shelf. He put the box on the counter and started pulling fire works out one by one, examining each one closely.

"Is Tony ok?" Abby finally asked in a small voice.

He picked up another fire work, examined it and placed it on the counter before he turned to look at a very scared Abby. "I'm going to skip right past the fact that these are still here after I told you to get rid of them – for now – and go straight to, what possessed you to give them to him?"

"He said they were for his trip this weekend," Abby said defensively. "If I'd known he was planning to set them off in the Navy Yard I wouldn't have given them to him. I swear!"

He nodded his head toward the lab door as he went back to his piece-by-piece examination. Abby turned and walked slowly to the door. She closed it, locked it and returned to the counter. A second later, Gibbs found what he'd been looking for. He pushed one of the fire works at Abby who took it, looked at it and slowly put it down on the counter. She walked over to the cabinet, bent down and pulled out a bottle of green liquid. It had leaked on the box of fire works.

"I didn't know," she said, near tears.

"When we're done here, you will take these out back and bury them in the dumpster." She nodded as a single tear escaped her eye. Gibbs looked at her and sighed. "I guess I can also skip the part where I tell you that he could have been killed," he said kindly.

"I'm so sorry," Abby said, bursting into tears. She launched herself at Gibbs, looking for a comforting hug, but instead, he pushed her away gently and held her at an arms' length.

"You disobeyed me, Abby." He said quietly. She nodded and sniffed. "You know I can't let you get away with that." She nodded and sniffed again. "Come on," he said and steered her toward her office.

He bent her over her desk, her elbows resting on the surface then slipped off his belt. Hesitantly, he flipped up the back of her short skirt, relieved to see she was wearing spandex shorts underneath. "The next time I tell you to do something, do it," he said as he placed his hand gently on her back. She nodded again and he felt her take a deep breath. Without another word, he raised the belt and started her spanking. As he rained down spanks on her, he listened and watched carefully. When her crying changed from the initial panicked cry of someone getting a spanking to the cries of someone truly repentant, he stopped, pulled her up and enveloped her in the hug she'd sought a few minutes earlier. He held her and rocked her as she cried into his chest.

After a few minutes, she'd calmed down, and he gently pushed her back. He studied her tear-streaked face for a moment. "Ok, it's over," he whispered. He bent slightly to plant a kiss on her head, and then pulled her back into a hug. "Abby," he said quietly, "that could have been you."

"I'm sorry," he heard her mumble into his chest.

"I know," he said and planted another kiss on the top of her head. He pushed her away again. "You ok?" he asked with a kind smile.

She finally released him and took a step back. "That hurt," she said, reaching back and rubbing her butt.

"Good," he smiled. "Now go get rid of those things. I have to go deal with Tony."

"Gibbs," Abby stopped him. "What are you going to do?" He gave her a look. "Just…don't kill him, ok? We need him."

He gave her a sideways grin, pointed at the box in a silent order, and left the lab.

* * * * *

Tony arrived at Gibbs' house but sat in his car for almost half an hour before he got up the courage to get out and go inside. He had no idea when his boss would be home and no idea what to do with himself until he got there. But he had a pretty good idea what would happen when he arrived. He paced the length of the living room so many times, he was sure he'd worn a hole in the already-worn rug. He replayed the events of the afternoon over and over in his head and before long, he was yelling at himself for his stupidity.

Sooner than he wanted, he heard a car pull into the driveway and seconds later, the front door open and close. He quickly backed himself against the fireplace. Gibbs walked into the room and stopped. For a few very long minutes, he did nothing more than stare at Tony. The younger man studied his boss' face, but its neutrality gave nothing away about what he was thinking. Then suddenly, without a word, Gibbs turned and walked into the kitchen. Tony was stunned. He'd expected an immediate, loud tongue-lashing, but instead, it sounded like Gibbs was starting dinner.

A moment later, Gibbs called him. "Tony, get in here and help me." Tony moved hesitantly to the kitchen. "Here," Gibbs said handing him a knife. "Get those chopped up. There's lettuce in the fridge and the bowls are over there." Tony took the knife and immediately began chopping vegetables for a salad.

"Boss," he ventured.

"Don't talk," came the order from Gibbs who was facing the stove, sautéing an onion.

The two men continued to work in silence until supper was cooked and on the table. Gibbs immediately dug in, but Tony sat staring at his plate. "Eat," Gibbs ordered. But a few minutes later when Tony still had not taken a bite, he put his own fork down with a sigh. "I've made arrangements with the director," he began. "You are suspended tomorrow, obviously, but you will return to work on Monday. You will be on desk duty all day Monday and when you return to the field, you'll be doing all of the schlepping until further notice."

Tony nodded. "I.."

"Don't. Talk." Gibbs ordered. "You will stay here and we will spend this weekend making sure you never do anything that stupid ever again."

"I have plans…" This time it was a hard look that silenced Tony. "I'll cancel them," he said as Gibbs picked up his fork and started eating again. "But Boss…"

"What part of 'don't talk' do you not understand?" Gibbs growled. "Eat." Tony picked up his fork, but he couldn't bring himself to put anything on it, much less put anything in his mouth. Gibbs put his fork down again. "Look at me," he ordered quietly. He waited until he had Tony's attention. "I already know you know you screwed up hugely. But once we deal with it, it's done. You know that too. So yes, this weekend is going to be very bad. Yes, I am going to take it out on your ass. But we'll get through it. In the meantime, eat." He looked at Tony for a moment, who still did not seem able to put any food in his mouth.

"Ok. This isn't going to work. I'm going to ask you a question, and you will answer that question and that question only. Understood?" Tony nodded. "Why aren't you eating?"

"Imscared," Tony mumbled almost incoherently.

"Of what?" Gibbs asked. Tony looked up, and Gibbs saw immediately that he was telling the truth. "Will you feel better if I tell you exactly how I'm going to punish you? Or do you think that will make it worse?" Tony shrugged. It figured, now that he wanted him to talk, he had clammed up. "You already know I'm going to spank you." Tony nodded. "A few times," he added. He saw Tony swallow hard. "And they're all going to be very bad, possibly some of the worst you've ever gotten. But you _will_ survive. And when they're over, you and I will spend some quality time together – and maybe even have some fun," he added lightly. Tony looked suddenly confused.

"Look, I promised the director that by the time I was done with you, you would automatically cringe every time a stupid idea came into your head for the rest of your life. But I also promised him that you would still be able to do your job when I was finished. Besides, you still have the punishment at the office to get through. Am I angry? Absolutely! Am I going to make sure you understand exactly what you did wrong? Of course. But this is what you need to understand above and beyond all of that: You scared the hell out of me today Tony. You could have been killed. Whatever that liquid was that spilled on Abby's fire works could have made it explode in your face instead of just sending it off-course." At the mention of Abby's name, Tony's head snapped up again. Gibbs suppressed a grin. "Yes, I know where you got them."

"Did you…may I ask a question?" Tony corrected himself when he saw the look from Gibbs. His boss nodded, though. "You didn't punish her for giving them to me, did you?"

"No," Gibbs shook his head. "Not for that." Tony opened his mouth, but Gibbs silenced him. "Now, you know what's going to happen. And I'm pretty sure you can handle anything I dish out to you. So eat."

Tony nodded slowly, and then visibly relaxed. He knew Gibbs was right. He wasn't looking forward to what was coming, but, yes, he could handle it. Without another word, he finally started eating. Gibbs watched approvingly for a moment before he resumed eating his own meal. It was the fear of the unknown that had Tony so panicked.

When they'd finally finished eating, they cleared the table and washed the dishes in silence. Gibbs turned to Tony as he folded the dish towel. "Take your stuff up to the guest room and stay there. I'll be up in a minute." Not surprisingly, Tony obeyed immediately.

As he walked up the stairs, he heard Gibbs go down to the basement. He could hear him digging around down there and could only imagine what he was doing. He went into the guest room and dropped his bag at the foot of the bed then sat down on it. He looked around the room for a minute, and soon, Gibbs was coming up the stairs.

Immediately, Tony looked at Gibbs' hands and his heart stopped. He was carrying a wooden paddle that was about six inches wide, eight inches long and about a quarter of an inch thick. It looked like it could deliver a pretty painful spanking, but it was the other object that had Tony scared. It was an old leather strap that Tony recognized as the kind barbers used to use to sharpen razors. Gibbs opened the top drawer of the dresser and dropped the paddle into it.

"Take your jeans off. I want you face-down on the bed," Gibbs instructed quietly. Tony slowly stood up and did as he was told. "Spread your legs a little bit – if you clench, I'll bruise you." Again, Tony obeyed. "Do you understand why I'm punishing you?" Tony nodded. "Tell me."

Tony pulled his face off the bedspread. "For putting myself, and who knows who else in danger, for destroying government property, for being irresponsible with my time, and just for being an idiot."

Gibbs grinned. "That's a pretty good summation, Tony." He walked to the other side of the bed, glanced at Tony for a minute then raised the strap and brought it down on his backside. Tony's hands gripped the top of the bedspread and he buried his face in the pillow. He'd never felt anything so painful in his life, and he had a lot of experience with spankings. Gibbs brought the strap down again and heard Tony grunt. Now that Tony knew what the strap felt like, Gibbs steeled himself for what he had to do by remembering the terror he'd felt when the cars had exploded and started spanking him a bit faster. In no time, Tony was sobbing, but the lashes kept coming. Gibbs had promised to deliver one of the worst spankings he'd ever gotten and he intended to deliver. The strap covered every inch of Tony's backside and the tops of his thighs, but eventually, it came to an end.

Gibbs dropped the strap on the bed and sat down next to Tony. He gently rubbed the back of the young man's head as he continued to sob. Having been in Tony's position many times in his own life, he knew that it wasn't just the fiery pain that was making Tony cry. It was a good ten minutes before Tony pushed himself up and rolled onto his side. Gibbs looked down at him. "Ok," he said quietly, "that's it for tonight. It's over for now." Tony nodded slowly, and Gibbs could see that he was exhausted. He stood up and walked to the closet, returning a moment later with a blanket that he draped over Tony. Immediately, Tony curled into a ball beneath it and after a few seconds, Gibbs put his hand gently on Tony's head for a brief moment, picked up the strap and put it in the dresser drawer. After one last look at Tony, he turned out the light and left the room.

He spent most of the night in the basement working on the boat. Spanking Tony had taken a lot out of him too, but he knew he would have to get over it so that he could do it again when the time came. But it was so hard.


	3. Chapter 3

* * * * *

The next morning, it took Tony a minute to reorient himself, but when he did, he groaned at the memory of everything that had happened the day before. Just a few seconds later, he heard a soft knock on the door and Gibbs entered the room. He was still wearing the pants and t-shirt he'd been wearing the night before.

"Hey," he said gently.

"What time is it?" Tony asked rolling over on his back. He felt a twinge of pain, but it wasn't nearly as bad as he thought it would be.

"0530. I'm getting in the shower. I'll be out in ten minutes and then you can have the bathroom, ok?"

Tony nodded and Gibbs closed the door again. He closed his eyes and the movie of the day before started playing in his head. "What is wrong with you?" he asked out loud after mulling over the actions that had lead him there.

Twenty five minutes later, Tony slowly went down to the kitchen. He could smell coffee and toast and as expected, Gibbs was leaning against the counter sipping a cup of coffee. Tony poured himself a cup and went to the refrigerator in search of cream automatically, as if he was at his own house. Surprisingly, he found a container of cream on the shelf. It wasn't until he screwed off the lid and realized that it hadn't been opened yet that he finally looked at Gibbs.

"I picked it up on my way home last night," he shrugged.

"Wow," Tony said quietly. He was struck by the kindness of the act. Gibbs had stopped to pick up cream just for him on his way home from one of the worst days of both of their lives.

A few minutes later, after they'd both finished their toast and coffee, Gibbs turned to Tony. "I need to leave soon. Let's go upstairs," he said quietly.

Tony took a deep breath and followed his boss back to the guest room. He immediately unbuttoned his jeans, pushed them down and started to take them off.

"Hang on," Gibbs said. "Leave them. Just turn around." He opened the drawer and pulled out the paddle. Tony turned around and bent over, his elbows on the bed. Gibbs positioned himself next to Tony and put a hand on his back. "When we're done here, I'm going to the office. You will spend the day going over all of the files I brought home with me last night. When I get home tonight, I want a report detailing all of the good decisions you made on each one of those cases. You are not to leave the house for any reason other than a fire. Got it?"

"Got it," Tony answered. "What cases?" he asked, twisting around as best he could to look at Gibbs.

"You'll see once you get started. Now, let's get this one over with," Gibbs said, pushing Tony back into place and immediately bringing the paddle down hard. Tony yelped and jumped and a split second later, the paddle landed again. After a _very_ thorough spanking, Tony was sobbing almost as hard as he had been the night before. Gibbs rubbed his back for a minute until he brought himself under control. "It's ok. It's over for now."

Tony nodded and straightened up. He wiped his arm across his eyes. "So can I go for a run or something?" he asked after a minute.

"No, you're grounded, remember?"

"But boss…" the paddle landed hard in the center of his butt and Tony immediately gave up. "Ok," he said with a sigh.

After Gibbs had shown Tony the box of files he'd brought home and put in the office, he grabbed his keys and headed for the door. "Wait, Boss," Tony called after him. Gibbs turned around. "Um, what…what…"

"DiNozzo, I have to leave. Spit it out."

"What's going to happen tonight?" he asked, digging into the floor with his toe.

_"Fear of the unknown_," Gibbs thought. "You have another appointment with the strap," he said seriously. "I have to go. I'll see you tonight. And Tony? Good job this morning."

He was out the door before Tony could ask what that meant. He watched his boss pull out of the driveway then walked to the office to get started on his project.

* * * * *

Gibbs arrived home with Chinese food to find a very tense Tony wandering aimlessly around the house, having obviously touched every item in sight. "Go get changed. We're going for a run," Gibbs told him, grinning slightly.

"Thanks Boss. I'm going crazy here." He dashed up the stairs and was back downstairs in shorts, a t-shirt and sneakers before Gibbs had even gone up to change himself.

After a five-mile run, they both showered and sat down for a re-heated dinner. Tony did his best to eat, but didn't even manage to finish his King Pao Chicken. After half an hour, Gibbs put down his chopsticks. "All right, go on upstairs."

By the time Gibbs got upstairs, Tony had already stripped off his pants and was laying face-down on the bed. Gibbs smiled proudly, but since his face was pressed into the bed, Tony missed it.

"Put your head at the other end," he instructed as he walked to the far side of the bed. Tony looked up in confusion, but quickly obeyed. Gibbs decided Tony deserved an explanation. "I'm sure I don't have to tell you that the tip of the strap hit your right side last night. I don't want to bruise you." Tony nodded and buried his face in the bed again.

The strap fell sharply and Tony found that he had nothing to grab onto like he had the night before. He clenched his fists tightly as it fell again. Gibbs listened as Tony dissolved into resigned sobs almost immediately and he was tempted to stop. But he knew that if he did, he wouldn't be doing his job. So he steeled himself like he had the night before and launched into another severe whipping.

Tony couldn't believe the pain growing in his backside. Gibbs hadn't been kidding when he'd said he'd be getting some of the worst spankings of his life. He had still been a little sore from his two earlier spankings when this one started and the cumulative effect was almost more than he could stand. Tonight's session was just as long and hard as the one from the previous night and by the time it finally stopped, Tony was hoarse from crying out.

Just like the night before, Gibbs covered Tony with a blanket and left him to sleep. But as he drifted off to sleep, Tony did notice that he didn't hear the dresser drawer open. Too drained to give it much thought, he let himself drift off.

Two hours later, Gibbs was working on his boat when he heard footsteps on the basement stairs. He looked up to see Tony making his way slowly and carefully down.

"I didn't expect to see you until morning," Gibbs said with a grin. Tony shrugged and leaned against the railing. Gibbs put down his sand paper and settled himself on a saw horse. "How ya doing?" he asked, concern lining his face.

"I'd say I'll live, but I'm not completely sure that's true."

Gibbs chuckled and offered Tony a piece of sandpaper. "I'd rather not," Tony said in response to the offer.

"Suit yourself," Gibbs shrugged and turned back to his boat.

He worked quietly for a while before Tony moved a little closer. "Boss, can I ask you something?"

"Sure."

"What did you mean this morning when you told me I'd done a good job?" he asked, a little unsure of himself. He picked up a chisel and fiddled with it.

"For the same reason I'm going to tell you the same thing tonight too." Gibbs sanded for few seconds before he continued. "When I sent you upstairs this morning, I expected you to whine and argue all the way there. But you didn't. You went willingly. That surprised me. And it made me very proud of you."

"How can you be proud of you after what I did?" Tony asked, his voice cracking.

Gibbs put down his sandpaper again and looked at Tony. "Haven't we had this conversation before? I'm disappointed with the choices you made. But you've taken responsibility for them and willingly accepted the consequences – and that," he said, patting Tony's cheek gently, "is why I'm proud of you."

Tony considered that for a moment, then his face brightened. "So does that mean we're done?" he asked hopefully.

Gibbs shook his head with a slight smile. "Not a chance." Tony's face and shoulders fell. "But," the older man added, "we're done with the strap. I put it away." He gestured toward the cabinet next to the stairs. He glanced at the clock. "Turn on the TV, there should be a ballgame on." He pulled another sawhorse over.

Tony looked at the hard wooden bench. "Boss, do you think maybe we could watch it upstairs?"

Gibbs laughed. "Yeah," he said, tossing the sanding block on the table. "I gotta wash up. Grab a couple of beers out of the fridge." Tony turned and started up the stairs. "Hey!" Tony turned around. "As in one for each of us, not a couple for you," he said knowingly.

The evening passed in a pleasant cloud of sports, joking and just a little bit of beer. For the first time in two days, Tony was truly relaxed.


	4. Chapter 4

* * * * *

The next morning, Gibbs woke Tony up and told him to get ready for a run. When they got back and had showered and eaten breakfast, Tony put his plate and cup in the sink. "I'll see you upstairs Boss," he said as he left the kitchen.

Gibbs smiled. Then quickly sobered. "_He's making this really hard,"_ he thought. And then he had a second thought. "_Why do I think he knows that?"_

Tony was standing next to the bed when Gibbs arrived in the room, clearly unsure of what to do. Gibbs opened the dresser drawer and produced the paddle with a slight nod toward the bed. Without a word, Tony pushed his pants down to his knees and bent over the bed. The fourth hard spanking in three days was delivered without prelude and, like the four previous ones, brought Tony to tears quickly. Gibbs knew that in spite of its less threatening nature, the paddle could deliver a very painful spanking, especially when applied to a backside that had been welted by the strap. He was right.

When the paddling was finished, Gibbs put the instrument back in the dresser. "It's over for now. Come on downstairs when you're ready," he said quietly to Tony.

A few minutes later, Tony appeared in the kitchen where Gibbs was downing another cup of coffee. He glanced up at the young man. He was definitely hurting, but he looked calm. Gibbs took that as a good sign. Tony grabbed a glass out of the cupboard and got some water from the sink next to Gibbs.

"So…" he began after he'd gulped it down, "what now?"

Gibbs rinsed his cup and put it in the sink. "Do you want to mow the lawn or trim the hedges?" Tony looked confused. "Hey, you're grounded. You don't think I'm going to let you lay around watching TV all day do you? I figure I can get some use out of you while you're here."

"Yeah. Makes sense," Tony agreed with a smile. "Oh, by the way, my report is done."

"I know. Already read it. Not bad," Gibbs grinned.

"Wait, when did you have time to read it between beating the crap out of me and working on that damn boat?" Tony asked with a teasing grin.

Gibbs cuffed him gently on the back of the head and laughed. "I read it last night after you went to bed."

"Do you sleep?" Tony asked as Gibbs ushered him to the garage.

The two men worked side-by-side for the rest of the day and Gibbs was encouraged to see Tony laughing and joking around again. He suspected that he'd finally let go of some, if not all, of the guilt he'd been carrying around since Thursday. And since he had already accepted responsibility for his actions, Gibbs decided that they were both ready for the punishment to end.

After a quick dinner of pasta and leftover salad, Gibbs sent Tony upstairs. He went without hesitation.

"There's no way this is getting easier for you," Gibbs said to Tony when he arrived to find him already in position bent over the bed.

"Well, a little. I mean, it's still hurting like hell, but I guess, I don't know…" he trailed off.

"Hm," Gibbs grunted in understanding then placed his hand on Tony's back. "You ready?"

"You've never asked me that before," Tony said, twisting around.

"Well, I've never cared before," Gibbs laughed.

Tony grinned and turned back around. "Yeah, I'm ready."

The spanking that followed was plenty hard, but it didn't reduce Tony to the same sobs the previous ones had. He was definitely hurting as the paddle fell against his already sore backside and thighs, but it didn't hurt emotionally at all. He knew that Gibbs cared about him. He knew that Gibbs was proud of him. He knew that Gibbs had forgiven him. And he knew that even if Gibbs chose to spank him everyday for the next year, he could accept it.

Sooner than expected, Tony felt Gibbs' hand leave his back and rub his head. "It's ok, Tony. It's all over."

* * * * *

An hour later, Tony found Gibbs in the basement working on his boat again. A baseball game was broadcasting from the TV. As Tony hit the landing at the bottom of the stairs, Gibbs held out a bottle of beer behind him with his left hand as his right continued sanding. Tony smiled and took the offered bottle. He drank quietly for a while. But eventually, he decided that one of them had to break the silence.

"Boss?" he ventured.

Gibbs picked up his own beer, turned around and perched himself on the edge of the support the boat was resting on. He studied Tony for a few seconds and took a sip. "So," he said suddenly, "do you want to hit the shooting range or the batting cages tomorrow?"

Tony smiled. "It's all over," he said and breathed a sigh of relief.

"Yeah," Gibbs said as he walked over to Tony and pulled his head toward his own. "It's all over. Well, except for the desk duty and schlepping," he added with a soft smack to the back of the young man's head.

"Hey Boss?"

"Mm hm?"

"I've been thinking. That strap - why do you even _have_ something like that?" Tony asked uncertainly.

Gibbs smiled to himself for a moment. "It's a family heirloom, Tony," he said quietly. A second later, he snapped back. "Hey, let's go get ice cream."

Tony watched Gibbs bound up the steps, looking ten years younger than he had the other day. Life was good again.


End file.
